Syrian President Bashar Assad's priority is to defeat "terrorists" before holding elections but he is ready to call parliamentary and presidential polls if necessary, a Russian lawmaker who met him Sunday said. The remarks are a first indication of Assad's response to a call by his Russian allies for new presidential and parliamentary elections, as Moscow uses its clout with Damascus to try to end almost five years of conflict in Syria. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, whose country has launched airstrikes against Assad's opponents in Syria, called for the elections in an interview broadcast Saturday. Moscow said Lavrov discussed Syria with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry twice at the weekend, and spoke to his Iranian and Egyptian counterparts Saturday. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said in Cairo that international talks had yielded some progress though more consultations were needed. Assad's opponents, however, are wary of Russia's motives, suspecting it of trying to prop up Assad and look after its own national interests in the Middle East as its warplanes support offensives against rebels on the ground. The Syrian state news agency SANA made no mention of elections in its account of Assad's meeting Sunday with a visiting Russian delegation. It said Assad told the visitors that "the elimination of terrorist groups" would lead to the political solution sought by both Syria and Russia. Asked after the meeting whether Assad was ready for early elections, Russian parliamentary deputy Sergey Gavrilov told Reuters his impression was that "the first aim [of Assad is] the struggle with and victory over ... terrorism, and after that the elections – parliamentary and president elections." Damascus views all the groups fighting it as terrorists. Gavrilov also told Russian state television that Assad was "ready for broad dialogue with all responsible political forces that care about Syria. He is ready for parliamentary elections, constitutional reform, presidential elections if necessary." Syria's last presidential election was in June, 2014. The vote was won overwhelmingly by Assad but dismissed as a sham by opponents, with much of the country at war and millions forced from their homes. "The Russians are ignoring the real facts on the ground, with millions who have been displaced inside and outside Syria, where cities are destroyed every day," said Samir Nashar of the Syrian National Coalition opposition group. "What elections are they talking about holding under such circumstances?"Assad is believed to control a quarter or less of territory, but the bulk of people still in the country are in the main cities of western Syria that he holds. The U.S. State Department said after Kerry met King Salman of Saudi Arabia Saturday that Washington and Riyadh had agreed to increase support for Syria's moderate opposition while seeking a political resolution. In Cairo, Jubeir reiterated the Saudi view that Assad can have no role in Syria's future. "I believe that there has been some progress and positions have moved closer to finding a solution to the Syrian crisis, but I cannot say that we have reached an agreement. We still need more consultations ... to reach this point," he told a news conference after meeting Egypt's foreign minister. The Russian Foreign Ministry gave few details of the phone conversation between Lavrov and Kerry Sunday, following a discussion by phone a day earlier. Moscow says Assad must be part of any transition and that the Syrian people will decide who rules them. Washington has said it could tolerate Assad during a short transition period, but that he would then have to exit the political stage.
